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“We’re trying to learn from it and observe it,” New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Ben Lawsky said in an interview.

Lawsky’s office is preparing to propose rules this year that will attempt to shield customers and the financial system from problems in the digital currency marketplace, which offers not only a new unit of exchange but also a new way to move money around the world.

Earlier this week, two major exchanges that buy and sell Bitcoins decided to limit customer withdrawals. Mt. Gox, based in Japan, said Monday it was dealing with a “bug” in the Bitcoin software. Bitstamp, based in Slovenia, said Tuesday a denial-of-service attack was taking advantage of the same problem.

Lawsky said his office is “primarily observing” and that Bitcoin isn’t yet big enough for its problems to disrupt the larger financial system.

“I think it’s an open question still how much of the problem is Bitcoin, how much of the problem is the programming at the exchange,” said Lawsky. “It’s one of the reasons frankly we’d love to bring these exchanges onshore so we could get better insight into what exactly they’re doing. And I think the sooner we provide a clear regulatory framework, hopefully the sooner we’ll attract the businesses who want to do it right to the U.S., to New York and keep it all from locating offshore.”

Lawsky has tried to get up to speed on the digital currency marketplace through subpoenas, two days of hearings last month and what he calls “open source” regulation — taking public comment through a variety of venues including Twitter.

But Lawsky said he doesn’t yet own any Bitcoins, which Wednesday cost more than $600 each.

“They’re expensive,” he said. “I’m just a poor old government employee.”

Lawsky, a former federal prosecutor, who as a state regulator has cracked down on big banks and insurance companies, is taking the lead as individual states figure out how to regulate digital currencies. State-by-state regulation is one of the biggest set of unknowns for the industry.

At the same time, a range of federal agencies and Congress are trying to figure out how to police the market. Lawsky said the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is interested in digital currencies, adding that his office has a “very good relationship” with the agency. CFPB officials watched the hearings he held on digital currencies last month, Lawsky said.

At an appearance at a conference in Washington on Tuesday Lawsky shared his views for the first time on what direction his office might head as they craft a possible “Bit License” for digital currency firms.

In an interview following the speech, Lawsky said the easiest and most obvious requirements he could implement would be consumer protections and disclosures. Lawsky has suggested informing customers that many digital currency transactions are irreversible and don’t offer a “money back guarantee.” Like mutual funds, firms could disclose price volatility and the potential for losses.

Lawsky said the more difficult questions his state will grapple with are to what extent firms dealing in volatile digital currencies need to hold capital buffers to absorb losses and to abide by restrictions in how they can invest customer money in search of profits.

“Those are more difficult, complicated questions we’re still wrestling with, and I don’t pretend to have all the answers yet,” he said.